Pneumatic shovel.



No. 699,636; Patented .May l3, I902.

L. HANGHETT & W. C. DAVIS. PNEUMATIC SHOVEL.

(Applicafiion filed Dec. 12, 1901.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet I.

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Patented May l3, I902.

L. HANCHETT 8:. W. C. DAVIS.

PNEUMATIC SHUVEL.

(Application filed Dec. 12, 1901.1

5 Sheets8heet 2,

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E ubna Patented May 13, I902;

L. HANCHETT &. W. C. DAVIS.

PNEUMATIC SHOVEL.

(Application filed Dec. 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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No. 699,680. Patented May l3, I902.v

- L. HANCHETT & W. C. DAVIS.

PNEUMATIC SHUVEL.

. Application filed .Dec. 12, 1901.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

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UNTTED STATES LAFAYETTE HANCHETT, OF IDAHO SPRINGS, AND WILLIAM C. DAVIS, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

DENVER, COLORADO.

PNEUMATIC SHOVEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 699,680, dated May 13, 1902. Application filed December 12, 1901. Serial No. 85,715. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, LAFAYETTE HAN- CHETT, residing at Idaho Springs, and WIL- LIAM C. DAVIS, residing at Denver, Colorado, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Shovels, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in pneumatic shovels designed more particularly for removing loose rock and earth in eXcavating tunnels.

\Ve have aimed in producing this invention to provide a shovel in which the loose material at the front of the machine may be raised and dumped by the lifting-shovel into a car or the like at the rear without necessitating the use of any complicated conveying apparatus.

A further object is to provide a device of the nature described which may be propelled forward as fast as the excavation progresses and which may be quickly and firmly held and braced against movement while the shoveling is in progress and as quickly released to permit the next advance of the carryingtruck.

We have also aimed to provide a self-propelled device adapted to run upon either rails or metallic plates and which when used upon the latter may besteered from side to side, as desired.

Finally, we have aimed to provide various features of construction and arrangement of the parts with a view to increase efficiency and durability and convenience of manipulation.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section. Fig. at is an elevation of the operating-platform, engine, and pumps. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the pumps and pipe connections. Fig. 6 is a diagrammaticview illustrating the pipe connections to and between the tank, pumps, and hydraulic rams and the controllingvalves. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the manner in which the supply and exhaust of compressed air to the cylinders is controlled, and Fig. 8 is a detail of the clutch and gearing for connecting the engines to either the pumps or driving-wheels of the truck. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail.

Referring to the drawings by numeral, 1 designates a truck-frame of suitable form and mounted upon wheels 2 in the ordinary or any desired manner. Upon a suitable platform 3 on the forward portion of the truck is mounted a rotary or turn table 4, traveling upon balls 4, running in a circular raceway 4C". This turn-table carries the shovel and the means for propelling it forward, raising, and retracting and dumping it, and by means of the rotary movement imparted to the table in the manner hereinafter described the shovel may be swung from one side to the other to operate upon all parts of the road-bed or tunnel.

The shovel is shown at 5 and may be of the ordinary or any desired construction, preferably provided with digging points or teeth 5. It is carried at the forward extremities of the arms (3, which are reciprocated to advance and retract the shovel by a cylinder 7 and piston 8, operating through a yoke 9, connected to the piston-rod 8. The rearwardly-extended arms 9 of the yoke are guided in guides 10, carried by the turn-table, and are provided with journal-pins 11, upon which the rear ends of the bars or arms 6 swing to permit the raising and lowering of the shovel. This raising and lowering is effected by a pneumatic cylinder 12, (hereinafter called the lifting-cy1inder,) rigidly carried by supports 13, bolted to rearwardly-extending arms 9 of the yoke 9 and operating through the following-described connection. A guide 1 1: is bolted to the front end of the lifting-cylinder, in which slides a cross-head 15, connected to the outerend of the piston-rod, and on the opposite ends of this cross-head are journaledidler pulleys or sheaves 16. Inclined idler pulleys or sheaves 17-are journaled on studs or axes rigidly carried by the frame supporting the lifting-cylinder, and quadrants 18 are rigidly bolted or otherwise secured to the bars or arms 6. Chains or cables 19 have each one end secured-in a suitable manner to the base of the quadrant, as indicated at 19, and thence they extend over the quadrants to and around the inclined idlers 17, and thence to and around movable idlers 16-, their opposite ends being connected to eyebolts 19*, secured to the aforesaid stationary frame. It will thus be seen that as fluid-pressure is admitted behind the piston of the lifting-cylinder to force it forward the tension exerted by the idler-pulleys upon the chain will cause the quadrants and arms 6 to be lifted upward, thus elevating the shovel, withitsload, accordingly. Buffers 20 are provided against which the rearward ends of the quadrants strike, whereby the upward movement of the shovel is checked.

As before stated, the shovel is propelled forward by the motive fluid admitted to the forcing-cylinder 7, acting on piston 8. When the shovel has been filled, it is partially raised, and motive fluid being admitted to the opposite end of the thrusting-cylinder the shovel is drawn back until its rear side approaches a chute 21 at the rear of the truck, which for better illustration of other parts is shown only in dotted lines. Motive fluid is then again admitted to the lifting-cylinder, which raises the shovel the balance of the distance, causing the contents thereof to be delivered into the chute, down which it runs into a box-car or like receptacle at the rear end of the truck. At the same time that the shovel reaches dumping position the rear faces of the quadrants strike rather sharply against the rubber bufiers, and the resulting vibration eflectually dislodges all the material contained within the shovel.

In order to permit the shovel to operate over a considerable lateral area, the turn-tableis rotated, as hereinbefore referred to, and this is effected through a cylinder 22. The piston-rod 23 of this cylinder is connected at its outer end to a rack-bar 24, which engages a circular rack 25 on the under side of the turntable, and by admitting the motive fluid in front of or behind the piston the turn-table is swung into any desired position.

In order to hold the truck braced rigidly against movement while the shovel is at work, jacks (preferably hydraulic) are provided, projecting laterally from the sides of the truck. These comprise the cylinders 26, having pistons with projecting portions 26 which are forced outwardly against the walls of the tunnel or out by water forced into the cylinders in the manner hereinafter described. These jacks are arranged to be operated independently of each other, whereby when the truck is used on flat metal plates instead of rails it may be steered-t. e. movedtoward one side or the other by applying pressure to either jack desired, as will be hereinafter described. I

' The truck is propelled forward or backward, as desired, by a duplex reversible engine, as indicated, which is located at one side of the truck, so as to be clear of the delivery-chute. As this engine may be of the usual or any desired construction, we have deemed it unnecessary to describe or illustrate it in detail. The piston-rods through suitable connections drive the shaft 27 ,which carries a suitable gear meshing with a longitudinally-movable gear 29 on a shaft 30. (See Fig. 8.) Two gears 31 and 32 are fast on this shaft, one of which, 31, meshes with a gear 31 on a shaft 31",which, through the usual crank and pitman connections, drives the pumps 36. The other gear, 32, drives the truckaxle through a train of gearing,(indicated at 33,33, 34:, 34c, and 35 in Fig. 1.) The hub of the gear 29 is' provided with clutch projections 29, engaging corresponding projections from the gears 31 and 32. Thus by shifting the clutchgear into engagement with gear 32 the truck may be propelled forward a suitable distance and then by disconnecting it from gear 32 and clutching it with gear 31 the pumps may be worked to operate the hydraulic jacks in the manner described hereinafter.

We prefer to employ hydraulic jacks 26, before referred to, for holding the truck after the engines have been stopped, and in order to operate them quickly and effectually the following devices are provided: A closed water tank or reservoir is suitably located, as shown at 37, Figs. 1, 2, and 6, and connected by suitable piping with the ends of the hydraulic rams. A suitable compressed air-pipe 38 extends to the top of the tank 37, and as soon as the motion of the truck driven by the engines has ceased compressed air is admitted to the tank 37, which expels water from the tank through pipe 39, leading from the bottom thereof and through the valve-chamber to the inner ends of the jacks, and quickly forces the plungers of the rams out against the walls of the tunnel or embankment. The pumps then operate to draw water from the bottom of the reservoir through pipe 39 and force it through pipe 39 and 39 into the cylinders 26 of the jacks until sufficient pressureis accumulated in rear of the pistons to hold the truck rigidly.

in position. The supply of air to the tank 37 is controlled by a three-way valve 38, the casing of which is connected by suitable piping with the source of compressed air. When this valve is in the position shown in Fig. 6, the air is admitted to the tank in the manner just set forth. When the valve is thrown into position to cut off the supply and connect pipe 38 with exhaust 38*, it operates through arm 38 and rod 38 a valve 38 which opens communication between the rear of the rams and the water-tank through branch pipes 39 and 39. have a constant air-pressure on their forward sides through the pipe connections 26 the opening of communication through valve 38 permits this air-pressure to push the pistons of the jacks back, forcing the water back into the tank or reservoir. The valve-chambers through which the water passes on its way tothe jacks are indicated at A and are simply verticallydisposed cylindrical casings provided with valve-seats and gravity-valves a As the pistons of the jacks always seat renders the pump ineffective.

eeeeso and a. (See Fig. 6.) The spaces between the valves are connected by short pipe-sections 1) with the suction and forcing chambers of the pumps. The valves a have their valve-stems (t extendedvdown through the lower ends of the valve-chambers and are designed to be raised by levers c, operated through suitable connections from tread les or foot levers d on the operating-platform. Thus While the pumps are running and the operator desires to operate one ram only he places his foot on the corresponding footlever and by raising the Valve from its By this means where the truck is run on flat steel plates instead of rails -it may be steered or shoved from one side toward the other, or vice versa, as desired. Each pneumatic cylinder has both its ends connected with a valve-chamber 40 through pipe connections 41 and 42, the connectionsbeing diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 7. These pipe connections include hose-sections 41 and 42, which permit the movement of the cylinders. The valve-chamber 40 is located above the operating-platform 43 and is supplied with compressed air by a pipe 44, having a hoseconnection (not shown) to a suitable source of compressed air. This valve-chamber contains D-valves 45, by rocking which the airsupply may be placed in communication with either end'of the cylinder at will and the opposite end placed in communication with the outside air by the exhaust, as clearly indicated in Fig. '7. The valves are rocked by handles 48 49. The engine has been referred to as a double-reversed engine. It will be understood that the reversing of the engine is effected by the ordinary reversing links operated by a suitable hand-lever 50.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck, a turn-table mounted thereon, guides on said turn-table, arms slidingly and pivotally supported from said guides, a shovel carried by said arms, means for advancing and retracting said arms, and means connected to said arms for raising and lowering them, substantially as described.

2. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck, guides carried thereby, a yoke having members sliding in said guides, means for reciprocating said yoke, arms pivoted to said members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, and means connected to said arms for swinging them upwardly, substantially as described.

3. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck, guides carried thereby, a yoke having members sliding in said guides, means carried directly by the truck for reciprocating the yoke, arms having their rear ends pivoted to said yoke members, and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, and means carried directly by the truck and connected to said arms for raising and lowering them, substantially as described.

4. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck, guides carriedthereby, a yoke having side members sliding in said guides, arms having their rear ends pivotally connected with said yoke members, and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, means carried by said truck between the guides for reciprocating the yoke, and means supported by'the truck above the reciprocating means for raising and lowering the arms, substantially as described.

5. In a power-shovei, a carrying-truck, guides carried thereby, arms having their rear ends provided with a sliding connection with said guides, a shovelcarried on the front ends of said arms, a pneumatic cylinder and piston for reciprocating said arms,and apneumatic cylinder and piston for raising and lowering said arms, substantially as described.

6. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck, guides carried thereby, a yoke having members sliding in said guides, a pneumatic cylinder and piston for reciprocating said yoke, arms having their rear ends pivoted to said yoke members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, and a pneumatic cylinder and piston for raising and lowering said arms, substantially as described.

7. In a power-shovel, a carrying-truck,

guides carried thereby, a yoke having members sliding in said guides, a'pneumatic cylinder and piston for reciprocating said yoke, arms having their rear ends pivoted to said yoke members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, a lifting-cylinder and piston supported by said truck, movable sheaves operated by said piston, stationary sheaves suitably supported, and chains having each one end connected to the pivoted arms and the other connected to a rigid part of the frame, substantially as described.

8. In apower-shovel, a truck, a yoke having members supported thereby to have longitudinal movement, means for moving said'yok'e, arms pivoted to said members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, quadrants secured to said arms,stationary and movable sheaves, chains secured to said quadrants and passing around said stationary and movable sheaves, the opposite ends of said chains being secured toafixed part of the fraine,and means for moving said movable sheaves to elevate the arms, substantially as described.

g 9. In a power-shovel, a truck, a yokehaving members supported thereby to have lon gitudinal movement, means for moving said yoke, armspivoted to said members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, quadrants secured to said arms, stationary and movable sheaves, chains secured to said quadrants and passing around said stationary and movable sheaves, the opposite ends of said chains being secured to a fixed part of the frame, and means for moving said movable sheaves to elevate the arms, and buffers on ing their opposite ends passing around the quadrants and secured for lifting the arms, substantially as described.

11. In combination with a suitable truck, arms pivotally supported thereby parrying a shovel at their forward ends, a power-cylinder and piston supported by said truck, a cross-head carrying sheaves operative] y connected to said piston, sheaves journale d on stationary axes, and lifting-chains passing around said sheaves and having their ends connected respectively with the arms and a stationary part of the frame, substantially as described.

12. In combination, with a suitable support, arms pivotally supported thereby car- -rying a shovel at their forward ends, quadrants carried by said arms, chains connected at one end to act on said arms, and passing over said quadrants, the opposite ends of said chains being connected to a fixed part of the support, idler-sheaves over which the intermediate portions of said chains pass, and means for moving said idler-sheaves to strain the chains and elevate the arms, substantially as described.

.13. In combination with a suitable truck, arms pivotally supported thereby carrying a shovel at their forward ends, quadrants carried by said arms, chains connected with said quadrants, means for applying tension to said chains to raise the arms, and yielding buffers for limiting the movement of said quadrants, substantially as described.

14. In combination, a suitable truck, a dumping-chute at the rear thereof, a shovel independent of said chute having a reciprocating and vertical swinging movement and supported by said truck, means for advancing and retracting said shovel and for raising the same, said means causing said shovel to advance to be filled and raised and then to move back to dump the contents into the chute at the rear of the truck, substantially v as described.

15. In combination, asuitable truck, a turntable mounted thereon with means for operating it, horizontal guides supported by said turn-table, a power-cylinder disposed longitudinally of said guides, a yoke having parallel members supported in said guides, connections whereby said cylinder operates said yoke, arms pivoted to said members and carrying a shovel at their forward ends, and a lifting-cylinder having connections for lifting said arms, substantially as described.

1 6. In combination, a suitable truck, a turntable mounted thereon, shoveling mechanism mounted upon said turn-table, means carried by the truck below the turn-table for rotating the latter, and laterally-movable bracing-jacks also carried by said truck below the turn-table, substantially as described.

17. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of transversely-arranged hydraulic jacks carried by said trucks and means for operating said jacks independently, substantially as described.

18. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of transversely-arranged hydraulic jacks carried by said truck, pumps also carried by said truck for supplying water to said jacks with means for operating said pumps and means for rendering either jack inactive, substantially as described. 19. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of hydraulic jacks carried by said truck, awater-tank also carried by the truck and connected with the jacks, means for admitting compressed air to the tank to start the jacks, and other means for supplying water under pressure to the jacks to complete their movement, substantially as described.

20. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of

hydraulic jacks carried by the truck, a water-tankhaving pipe connections to the jacks, means for supplying air under pressure to said tank to impart a rapid initial movement to said jacks and water-pumping mechanism for supplying water under pressure directly to said jacks to com plete their movement, substantially as described.

21. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of hydraulic jacks carried by said truck, a pair of pumps for supplying water to said jacks with means for operating said pumps, one of said pumps being connected to each jack, and means for rendering either pump inoperative, substantially as described.

22. The combination with a suitable truck, and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of hydraulic jacks carried by said truck, a pump having a water-forcing pipe leading directly to each of said jacks, check-valves in said pipes, and means for raising either of said check-valves at will to maintain any jack out of action, substantially as described.

23. The combination with a suitable truck and shoveling mechanism carried thereby, of hydraulic jacks for said truck, a water-tank having pipe connections to said jacks, means for admitting compresssd air to said tank to force an initial supply of water into said jacks,

and pumping mechanism having connections for drawing water from said tank and forcing it into said jacks, substantially as described.

24. The combination with a suitable truck, ofa plurality of hydraulic bracing-jacks, a water-tankhaving pipe connections to said jacks, means for admitting air under pressure to said tank to force an initial supply of water into said jacks,a pump for each jack having pipe connections with the water-tank and with its respective jack, means for operating said pumps, and means for rendering any or all of said pumps ineffective, substantially as described.

25. The combination with a suitable truck carrying shoveling devices, of an operatingplatform carried thereby, a pair of hydraulic jacks carried by said truck, a pump for each jack located beneath the platform with means for operating said pumps, pipe connections from each pump to its respective jack, a check-valve in each of said pipe connections, and foot-levers on the platform operatively connected with the check valves, substantially as described.

26. The combination with a suitable truck, of a rigid chute at the rear thereof, a single shovel at the front and independent of said chute arranged to lift the material to be excavatcd, convey it backward anddump it into said chute, arms having a sliding and pivoted connection with the truck and supporting said shovel, and means for operating said arms, substantially as described.

27'. The combination with a suitable truck, of a chute carried at the rear thereof, arms having sliding and pivotal connection with said truck, a single shovel carried at the forward ends of said arms, means carried by the truck for reciprocating said arms and rais-.

ing and lowering them whereby said shovel is filled, raised, retracted and the contents dumped into said chute, an operating-platform at one side of the truck, out of the path of the shovel, and means on the platform for controlling the mechanism for operating the shovel-supporting arms, substantially as described. I

28. The combination with a suitable truck, of a chute at the rear thereof, a single shovel at the front arranged to lift the material to be excavated, convey it backward and dump it into the chute, pneumatic cylinders for operating said shovel, an operating-platform located at one side of the truck, and controlling means on said platform for controlling the operation of the cylinders, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signa tures in presence of two witnesses.

LAFAYETTE HANCHETT. WILLIAM C. DAVIS. Witnesses GEORGE F. Nis'r,

C. A. YoN'r. 

